Introduction

Written at a time when the black community was being brutally exploited and mistreated, the novel brings about the ways in which these injustices were happening in every aspect of the society. It provides a picture of the social norms existing at that time which were very much similar to the situation during the civil rights movement.

Thesis statement

To kill a mocking bird is a timeless novel that serves to portray the plight of the black community in America during the 1930s and very much highlights the social discrimination faced by the black community. It demonstrates the courage that is needed to stand up against the injustices and in this regard bears close resemblance to the civil rights movement launched in America and around the world.

Discussion

To kill a mocking bird is without doubt a timeless novel. The intensity it generates among the readers, and the strong themes it carries can be applied to the present day. The social issues it discusses and focuses on such as race, social and civil rights, discrimination and murder of justice makes it a novel that can be read in the present ages too (Henderson, i American Behavioral Scientist 43 (8): 2000 P 1231).

The time in which Lee wrote was plagued with social injustices on a racial basis and the subjugation of the rights of the black men. The location of the novel is in the southern part of America, which has been the most notorious of all in USA for racial discrimination. Children are innocent and hence unbiased. This technique of the writer enables the social setting and norms of that time to be explored in an unprejudiced way. They turn out bearing strong similarities to the prevailing situation during the civil rights movement (Henderson, i American Behavioral Scientist 43 (8): 2000 P 1231).

The novel bears close resemblance to the civil rights movement being fought in USA and around the world to attain equal rights for all. As the hero in the novel, Atticus defends an accused black man despite knowing he has been “licked” from the beginning, the civil rights movement was started from a scratch and though seemingly frail had the audacity and determination to fight till the end like the protagonist of the novel did. Two close resemblances between the novel and the civil rights movement are raising voices against injustice and showing the determination to end oppression.

The novel, therefore, becomes one of the major sources of enlightenment and motivation for the oppressed portion of the society to launch a struggle to obtain their rights. The plot of novel through the courage shown to fight injustice by a few characters attains immense importance for the civil rights movement that prevailed from 1950-1980 (Ohmae, 34).

As it turns out, most of the social issues prevailing the back people in the early nineteenth century may have been addressed, but racial discrimination and social injustice nevertheless continue to be part of the society to this day. The black people may have obtained their rights without ...